Colleges Become Hotbed for Mining Activities

Vectra’s report asserts that opportunistic students, malicious hackers, and even cryptocurrency mining scripts hosted by websites, are sapping power from universities to freely mine virtual currencies.

The analysis concludes that higher education is by far the largest industry that “exhibit[ed] cryptocurrency-mining attack behaviors from August 2017 through January 2018.” Vectra’s research claims that 85 percent of said attack behaviors identified across all industries originated from higher education institutions, followed by “Entertainment & Leisure” with 6 percent, Technology (3 percent), and Financial Services (3 percent).

The report notes that “The number of computers processing cryptocurrency hashes on college campuses increased before the value of bitcoin rose above $4,000 USD in 2017.” The sudden crash in bitcoin prices heading into January appears not to have deterred opportunistic students seeking to take advantage of campus electricity, with the report adding that “Even as the value of bitcoin fell 50% from its peak […], the number of computers performing cryptocurrency mining” on campuses did not decline.

Opportunistic College Students Take Advantage of Free Electricity

Joey Dilliha, an 18-year-old student at Western Kentucky University, recently told media that he leaves a Bitmain Antminer running in his dorm room, consistently garnering $30 each week in profit. “I believe more people should be doing it. It’s a super fun, and cool cheap way to be introduced to the market of mining,” Mr. Dilliha stated.

Dilliha said that his college does not permit his mining activities due to such being perceived as a fire hazard. “On dorm room check days, I have to turn it off and put a blanket over it. However, my RA loves to come in and talk about it with me,” he added.

In January, Stanford University issued a notice responding to what it described as “a sharp increase in incidents involving cryptocurrency mining at Stanford.” The notice sought to remind students that “Per university policy, Stanford resources must not be used for personal financial gain. As such, community members are prohibited from using university resources (including computing equipment, network services, and electricity) for cryptocurrency mining activities outside of faculty sanctioned research and course work.”

Vectra’s head of security analytics, Chris Morales, stated that “Students are more likely to perform crypto mining personally as they don’t pay for power, the primary cost of crypto mining.”

Do you think that colleges can do anything to stop opportunistic students from mining on campus? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Blockchain technology is slated to help secure and verify election results in Russia, as well as the United States.

Blockchain Choose You

In an effort to provide a more safe and secure system for voters, Russia’s Central Election Commission is planning on implementing a blockchain-based voting system protected against hacking, rigging, and other forms of election fraud.

Russian politician Ella Pamfilova declared on the Moscow Calling radio station earlier this week:

I will discuss this issue with the president … there is a public demand for it. We have refurbished everything we could before the latest election, but now as the election is over we have to act preemptively. I want to make a system that has no analogue, a system based on blockchain. This is my ambition.

According to RT, Pamfilova’s planned system would be secure against cyber attacks and hacking, while also proving a simple and convenient system for ordinary citizens looking to cast their votes. She also noted that the technology to make a system which is “guaranteed against rigging from any side whatsoever” already exists and that she would like to see a blockchain-powered voting system implemented for the next Russian presidential election in 2024.

Interestingly, blockchain technology has already been utilized in Russian presidential elections. However, as noted by RT, the underlying technology behind Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has not actually been used for voting. Rather, the VTSIOM public opinion research agency tested the technology with exit polls on March 18th, noting that it “prevented any external changes to the collected data, decreased the effectiveness of hack attacks and ensured the transparency of the data collection and aggregation.”

Voting via App

Russia is not alone in using blockchain technology for voting purposes. In the United States, West Virginia has become the first state to test a blockchain-based mobile app for voting — initially available only to out-of-state military personnel.

The Secretary of State of West Virginia has teamed up with Boston-based technology startup Voatz to provide an easier solution for out-of-state military voters. Registered and qualified voters that are currently deployed, along with their spouses and dependents, will be able to conveniently vote in the upcoming primary election on May 8th via compatible Apple or Android mobile devices.

What do you think about blockchain technology being used to protect against election fraud? Let us know in the comments below!

According to new reports, Reddit has stopped accepting Bitcoin as a payment method.

No More Reddit Gold for Bitcoin

The popular social media platform, Reddit, has stopped accepting Bitcoin for Reddit Gold. The platform had started accepting the decentralized cryptocurrency back in 2013 through a partnership with the popular online Bitcoin exchange, Coinbase.

Many people found this decision to stop accepting Bitcoin odd since the social media platform has a very large and active cryptocurrency community. Reddit admin emoney04 confirmed the decision to stop accepting Bitcoin:

Yup that’s right. The upcoming Coinbase change, combined with some bugs around the Bitcoin payment option that were affecting purchases for certain users, led us to remove Bitcoin as a payment option.

Users speculate that this decision may have been driven by the previous high transaction costs of Bitcoin that even reached $50.

Will Bitcoin Get a Second Chance?

High transactions fees may have been the reason why some online merchants stopped accepting Bitcoin as a payment method. However, Bitcoin transaction costs have drastically fallen in the last couple of months. The average Bitcoin transaction currently costs $1.07, which when compared to other payment forms, is pretty attractive to consumers.

According to a Bloomberg report, the popular online Bitcoin exchange, Coinbase, has released a new tool called Coinbase Commerce. The new tool allows online shops to easily accept popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum.

Reddit’s decision to stop accepting Bitcoin may not be final. The social media platform is currently reviewing the current demand for Bitcoin payments and will act accordingly. Reddit admin emoney04 noted:

We’re going to take a look at demand and watch the progression of Coinbase Commerce before making a decision on whether to reenable.

In case Coinbase’s new tool shows good results, we may not only see Reddit accepting Bitcoin again, but many other major online shops as well.

What are your thoughts on Reddit’s decision to stop accepting Bitcoin? Do you think that the platform will re-enable Bitcoin payments again? Let us know in the comments below!

Regulatory Ambiguity Fails to Deter Cambodia’s Cryptocurrency Sector

A report published by The Phnom Penh Post suggests that Cambodia’s virtual currency industry is pressing forward in spite of the regulatory ambiguity surrounding cryptocurrencies in the country.

The founder of the Khmer Crypto Foundation, In Mean, told local media that individuals operating in Cambodia’s cryptocurrency sector do so with great care due to the legal uncertainty. “It’s not clear yet whose job it is to regulate cryptocurrencies,” Mr. Mean said. “It could fall to the [National Bank of Cambodia (NBC)] or the [Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC)], but it’s not clear yet which one it will be.”

Although Cambodia has not explicitly outlawed the possession cryptocurrencies, Cambodia’s government announced the prohibition of “all banks and microfinance institutions from trading, buying, selling and advertising cryptocurrencies,” in December 2017.

Cambodians Citizens Launch Altcoins in Spite of Legal Grey Area

Mr. Mean launched his own cryptocurrency in November 2017, with local media stating that the “regulatory grey area […] prevents him from monetizing it.” Mr. Mean states that he “give[s] out the coin” and “tell[s] people that it has no value,” claiming that the project, Khcoin, functions as an educational tool as opposed to a speculative asset. Mr. Mean created a wallet for Khcoin, and claims that roughly 5,000 Cambodian citizens currently hold Khcoin. Mr. Mean states that he has also developed an exchange platform for Cambodian cryptocurrency trading, however, waiting for clear regulatory guidelines before he intends to launch such.

The exchange has so far proved a trying venture for Mr. Mean, who states “I used my own money and lost thousands of dollars to hackers [during testing], but I want to do this because I think it is important for Cambodia to show the world that it can have its own cryptocurrency.”

Entapay to Conduct ICO in Cambodia

At the start of March, Cambodia saw the launch of another local altcoin, called Entapay. The project was initially the subject of confusion – with a press release for the project announcing Entapay to be backed by the Cambodian government. Richard Lee, the PR director of Entapay, appears to have subsequently distanced the company from the bold claims, stating “We never said that we had the official backing of the government. We just said that we had their support” – despite adding “We don’t have a financial license for Entapay yet, but we will soon.”

The company is currently holding an initial coin offering for its Entapay token. The ICO is currently conducting pre-sales, accepting only ETH from investors. Investors will be distributed ‘Enta Diamond certificates’ which investors can then use to purchase Entapay tokens.

What are your thoughts on the ambiguity surrounding Cambodia’s cryptocurrency industry? Join the discussion in the comments section below!

Cyber attacks already take a heavy toll on companies the world over, and things are only going to get worse. However, R3Sec offers a solution to minimize intrusion time while making life miserable for would-be cybercriminals.

Cyber Attacks Cost Companies Billions

Cybersecurity threats can cost companies millions of dollars. To date, $1.2 billion has already been stolen from cyber attacks, and threats to cybersecurity may cause an estimated $6 trillion per year in damages by 2021. Stolen identities through security breaches at Equifax, Yahoo, Uber, and LinkedIn have cost $1 billion in the last three years alone, and the average cost per breach per company in 2017 was $3 million.

Stationary infrastructure, in particular, is an easy target for cybercriminals, who can easily learn and adapt their illegal tactics over time. According to SiteLock, “99% of hacked websites are comprised of blogs, non-profit and SME sites,” while Symantec claims that over 50% of attacks target SMEs (small-to-medium enterprises).

Because of this, companies are constantly required to update their security systems through patches and upgrades – neither of which can successfully keep up with the best and most effective hackers. Making matters worse, constant cybersecurity upgrades are expensive and only offer marginal improvements, and a global shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals creates holes in existing technological safety nets.

R3Sec Offers Solutions

R3Sec MTD (Moving Target Defense) technology reduces the impact of cybersecurity intrusion to a minimum as it shifts the cybersecurity focus from vulnerability elimination to consequence management.

Moving Target Defense technology allows for the constant rotation of virtual machines in short intervals. For example, one may rotate between 5 online and 3 offline servers, which continually interrupts would-be cyber crimes and forces the re-initiation of cyber attacks. During the rotation, offline servers are continually cleansed of malware and damage. As noted by Terry Janssen Ph.D. (SAIC, Lockheed Martin):

Dynamically shifting the attack surface – it would make the intruders life much harder.

A spokesperson for Regional director of DHS Science and Technology directorate also noted that R3Sec’s technology “is the only MTD we stumbled upon that prevents or disrupts vulnerability or exploit, while still providing identical functionality.”

R3Sec’s MTD instant proactive protection is also easy to integrate and easy to use. Once set up, it successfully minimizes intruder access time and minimizes the effect of a successful breach – if a cyber attack is even able to get through. Thus, the cost of fighting cyber intrusion is greatly reduced, while the cost for would-be intruders is significantly increased.

R3Sec uses award-winning, proven, and patented self-cleansing intrusion tolerance technology, in addition to off-the-shelf technologies like VMware. Rotation frequency can even be set to once per minute, creating an ultra-low intruder residence time and greatly minimizing attack exposure.

Additionally, R3Sec solutions integrate seamlessly with on-premise system builders, a centralized cloud hosting partner, and even decentralized hosting systems such as the ones provided by Storj, FileCoin or Sonm. There are a multitude of IT-security advantages present when choosing decentralized hosting over traditional solutions, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t also vulnerable to intrusions and data leakage – which is why R3Sec is already in talks with Google Cloud, HP, Amazon Web Services, Sia, IPFS, and many others.

An Industry-Leading Team

R3Sec’s team is comprised of industry-leading professionals with over 40 years of experience building successful companies. Combined, its team members have more than 50 years of engineering experience and over 25 years of work experience in cyber security – with team members having past work experience at Google and IBM.

In addition to a skilled team of professionals, R3Sec also features an impressive advisory board – which provides industry insights, networks, and mentorship. Among its members are leading moving target defense expert Dr. Arun Sood, smart contract/decentralized hosting expert and Mycelium wallet developer Andreas Petersson, and IT security experts Dr. Damiano Bolzoni, Alex Kreilein, and Gideon Marks.

Pre-ICO Offering 30 Percent Bonus

R3Sec’s Pre-ICO (Initial Coin Offering) is currently live and is offering a 30 percent bonus to early-bird investors. More than 14,808,395 have already been sold, and the Pre-Sale will end when 70 percent of tokens have been sold.

R3Sec’s Token ICO will begin in April 2018, with each token priced at $1. There will be a Token Sale Bonus up to 5 percent, with an extra 5 percent bonus if tokens are purchased with COR. Other accepted forms of payment include Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

To learn more about R3Sec’s products, see the company’s partners, read its whitepapers, join its whitelist, and follow its industry-leading team, check out the project’s official website.

What do you think about R3Sec’s Moving Target Defense technology? Are you interested in the project’s Pre-ICO? Let us know in the comments below!

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that has become popular all over the world, but we can’t forget its early days. From the inception of Bitcoin, it’s been more like an experiment in a distributed currency and a target for online hackers. But right now, it has become a multi-billion dollar digital asset which is widely known, thus making all financial institutions express fear due to the fact that the reason for their existence is threatened.

However, in this article, we would rather take a detailed look at the challenges Bitcoin must face or overcome to become a worldwide currency and ensure corrupt politicians don’t have their way in controlling economic funds for their personal interests.

Lack of public knowledge

The lack of public knowledge on how economic policy works is one of the most significant problems confronting Bitcoin today.

It is necessary to know that if people are educated on how modern finance works, they won’t be taken advantage of. The central bank of any country is blindly trusted by its citizens. Financial companies work for their personal interests alone; hence, they care more about the benefits that they derive more than the people.

Central banks play costly games by producing the country’s currency notes and intentionally reducing the value of the currency. This is due to the fact that the currency is not supported by any policy and can be inflated at any time, so the currency is subject to unfortunate monetary decisions.

We can’t forget cases in countries like Germany of residents taking exorbitant sums of money to the bank with a wheelbarrow in the 19th century.

Another case is in Zimbabwe, where money was excessively printed, resulting in the inflation of its currency. Unsurprisingly, inflation in Zimbabwe resulted in the disruption of the economy.

The United States is not left out, as there are cases where the government has printed a large number of dollars to balance its accounts. Lots of economic professionals believe such actions will result in chaos.

An important way that an economy can escape from disaster is through Bitcoin (a futuristic bank). Nevertheless, educating people about fiscal policies and the banking system will do more good than harm.

Payment issues

Another big challenge that Bitcoin faces and must overcome is the issue of payment. At present, the network cannot efficiently process the large number of transactions that occur daily.

SegWit represented an upgrade which opened an avenue on the blockchain for global payments. Right now, a more exceptional solution has been employed to address payment issues. It is necessary to know that this backup solution is called Lightning Network, and it permits users to make multiple payments and allows for other forms of payment not to be clogged.

Acceptance issues

If lots of people make use of Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency’s network will expand. However, it will also change the way people see it, as it’s currently viewed as an instrument for drug dealers and money launderers. Worldwide acceptance will produce lots of problems for corrupt officials.

This past week has seen Bitcoin and many altcoins fluctuate dramatically. These significant fluctuations can be profited off of by trading or increasing one’s position in the underlying crypto. The upcoming week has major events for five cryptocurrencies: PRL, UKG, EOS, PKB, and BRD.

The Market Conditions

In December of 2017, Bitcoin was pushing the $20,000 mark with many experts predicting a run much higher. The bull market turned bear and BTC is currently priced at approximately $7,000 per coin. This sixty plus percent retraction has led altcoins to retract even further. Bitcoin’s dominance in the past three months has increased as the total market cap of all cryptos has decreased. BTC now makes up a greater share (percentage wise) of the total crypto markets than it did in December, when its price was 200% higher.

Markets in turmoil usually scare investors away. However, the savvy investor is keenly aware of the opportunities markets in turmoil provide. There are buying opportunities galore with many altcoins having major events on a weekly basis. Rotating one’s holding from one altcoin to another week to week is a timely task but if accomplished in a sophisticated manner can lead to substantial returns outpacing Bitcoin and the rest of the crypto markets.

PRL – Oyster Protocol (SHL Airdrop, Exchange Support)

The SHL airdrop to PRL holders is finally a week away! On April 6, 2018, each holder of PRL will receive a 1:1 ratio of SHL for each PRL crypto held. Last week no exchanges had announced support for the airdrop. However, this week, the exchange PRL is predominantly traded on expressed their support for the airdrop. Now holders of PRL in their wallets or on the main PRL exchange can easily attain the SHL tokens.

PRL is planning to revolutionize the way web hosts earn an income. Instead of advertising revenue making up the majority of income for web hosts; PRL intends to replace ad revenue. Web hosts will soon be able to input a line of code into their websites that allow for no advertisements but still provide revenue based on total views/visitors. How is this completed? Well, the visitor to the website is unaware but a miniscule amount of their spare computing power is used to confirm transactions on the PRL network, rewarding the webhost in PRL tokens.

The amount of revenue attained from removing advertisers is expected to surpass the amount received from running advertisements. PRL is a great crypto without having to airdrop SHL, but SHL adds any entirely new degree of value in the form of an airdrop. SHL intends to decentralize the internet and if it comes even close to its ambitions should increase exponentially in value.

As airdrops approach the underlying crypto usually increases until exchange support is announced or declined. If a major exchange supports the airdrop the value of the underlying crypto tends to increase until the date of the airdrop. If an exchange declines support for the airdrop the crypto generally retracts significantly as individuals have to decide to move the crypto to a desktop/application based wallet or to sell at the current price. PRL received support for their SHL token airdrop on the main exchange PRL is traded.

This week should be a very positive week for PRL. Following the airdrop, there should be a significant correction in the price of PRL as many are currently holding for the SHL token.

UKG – Unikoin Gold (Esports Live Betting, Spectator Betting)

Unikoin Gold (UKG) is an ERC-20 token that has been incorporated into the Unikrn platform. The Unikrn platform specializes in licensed, legal betting on eSports tournaments and matches. UKG provides a reward and incentivization structure for teams, players, and the participants of eSports. One of the biggest backers of the Unikrn project is the infamous Mark Cuban, billionaire, investor, Dallas Mavericks owner, and television personality. With investors such as Mark Cuban and a major upcoming week UKG should see a strong rally in the short term.

UKG is fairly useless without its Esports live betting and spectator betting platforms. Well, these platforms allegedly go live this week, on April 6, 2018. If UKG achieves this deadline the price of UKG will respond accordingly in a positive manner. Similarly, if UKG misses this deadline the public will lose faith regardless of the importance of Mark Cuban. What UKG is “supposed” to be, a major aspect of their roadmap, and the backbone of the platform is supposed to go live in less than a week. The ability to access spectator and Esports betting is what gives UKG utility. Utility adds value more than anything else in the crypto space.

If UKG is able to implement spectator and Esports live betting this week UKG should see a nice boost in sentiment regarding the coin, and the underlying value of UKG.

EOS – EOS (Dawn 3.0 Release)

EOS is a similar cryptocurrency to Ethereum (ETH) but excels in areas ETH fails. EOS specializes in scalability, an area where ETH suffers greatly. However, ETH has attained the most important thing of all: market penetration. The overwhelming majority of ICOs from the past year were ETH based on the ERC-20 platform. This sheer quantity led to many scaling problems for ETH and this is specifically where EOS excels.

For those that are not technology advanced understanding what Dawn 3.0 is will be fairly difficult. To summarize, Dawn 3.0 is finally stable enough to release as an Alpha and will soon become the GitHub master branch for EOS. This substantial development for EOS ensures its relevancy in the future as long as ICOs continued to be launched.

EOS is on the cusp of being fully implemented and functioning. Once these benchmarks in their roadmap are met, EOS will have an inherent advantage when compared to other cryptos that specialize in ICOs. It is expected by many crypto enthusiasts that EOS is the only capable platform able to handle full-scale commercial decentralized applications. Once this is achieved developers and investors will flock to the EOS platform for its advantages over other ICO platforms. Dawn 3.0 is the beginning of being able to understand what these advances truly include.

BRD – Bread (iOS and Android Updates)

The BRD token was sold during an ICO to raise money for the Bread App (a great mobile wallet for iOS and Android). It seems curious but currently, the Bread App only can buy, sell, and transfer Bitcoin (BTC). The Bread application currently does not have the ability to hold the BRD token. This will obviously change in the short term with April 7, 2018, being the targeted date. The plan according to BRD is to update the iOS and Android applications to support ETH, ERC-20 tokens, and Bitcoin Cash (BCC). BRD currently has no utility and cannot even be held in the Bread application.

This week should be the last week the Bread application cannot hold BRD tokens. By incorporating BRD, ETH, ERC-20 tokens, BTC, and BCC all in one mobile wallet many individuals may begin using Bread for its overwhelming benefits. Once BRD can be held on the Bread application the plan is to allow BRD to be used to “unlock” special features within the app. If a wallet user has 10,000 BRD for example, they may be able to purchase BTC for a 1% fee instead of the industry standard of over 4%. The more BRD you hold in your wallet, the more benefits the user will receive for possessing them.

BRD’s token is about to be given significant utility by being able to provide the holder special benefits within the Bread application. This system creates an environment where holders of BRD are not selling but continuing to acquire as their will be benefits based on quantity held. By decreasing supply on the open market while increasing utility of BRD, the price should correspondingly increase.

PKB – ParkByte Delisting (Bittrex, SHORT)

Not all news is “good” in crypto. PKB is being delisted from Bittrex on April 6, 2018. PKB was unable to provide all the documentation Bittrex requested in the 7-day time frame they were given. Unfortunately for PKB holders, this resulted in their delisting by Bittrex. Other cryptos like MTL have rebounded following their delisting but it seems PKB may fall into the majority category and fade into oblivion unless they can create positive sentiment very quickly. Being delisted from Bittrex generally is a “nail in the coffin” unless significant changes, public outreach, and a strong team remain.

PKB has a solid team but with a market cap of under $500,000, it seems unlikely they can revive their project following a Bittrex delisting. However, if they are able to this very small market cap crypto that can still be purchased on Bittrex will skyrocket in value. Of the coins on this list this is the only one that is reasonably expected to continue fading into oblivion. There is no real ability to short this crypto which would be the recommendation but if you are feeling risky do the opposite of what the public does! This is crypto, anything can happen.

If PKB can get themselves relisted or provide project updates that change market sentiment, expect this very small market cap crypto to increase dramatically in value. With the current negative news regarding a delisting, this is a very risky coin to hold but provides more upside than any on this list.

Every Week Has Great Opportunities, Finding Them Is Not Always Easy

This week has four coins with great upcoming news and one with very negative news. This is a very exciting time for crypto as a whole as many projects started six months ago are finally coming to fruition this week. With such important events in the upcoming week it is important to stay diversified while keeping an eye on five coins for the upcoming week. These five coins should fluctuate dramatically depending on the developments over the next week.

The cryptocurrencies to focus on for the week of March 1, 2018, include PRL, PKB, UKG, BRD, and EOS.

To read the King’s prior articles, to find out which ICOs he currently recommends, or to get in contact directly with the King, you can on Twitter (@JbtheCryptoKing) or Reddit (ICO updates and Daily Reports).

Despite several iterations, cryptocurrency is still severely criticized. In fact, the acceptability of these digital coins is always viewed with skepticism. Often, users of this currency are perceived as being selfish. People think that the crypto world is all about making and saving money. However, a recent happening has jolted the news world and the crypto haters. A popular charity, GiveDirectly, has received a US$1 million donation from Ethereum’s founder and OmiseGo.

Such charitable donations are worth highlighting as using cryptocurrency for this noble purpose is indeed something notable. Maybe this initiative will compel the haters to rethink their beliefs about crypto.

GiveDirectly received a US$1 million donation from the blockchain projects. GiveDirectly is a charity meant to aid the extreme poor via no-strings-attached grants.

In a recent blog post on its website, the charity revealed the details of the donation by Vitalik Buterin and OmiseGo. OmiseGo is a fintech startup that held an ICO last year, raising $25 million to develop a decentralized payment network.

GiveDirectly has received $1 million in OMG tokens, and will distribute it to refugees living below the poverty line.

Based in Uganda, GiveDirectly has helped 12,000 refugee households. Its campaign aims to provide funds to these refugees to help them grow businesses or take other steps requiring investment.

GiveDirectly Ventures are Supported By Tech Giants

Receiving donations from prominent sources is not something new for GiveDirectly. It is already backed by some tech giants, such as Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes (Facebook’s co-founders), Google, and Pierre Omidyar (eBay’s founder). Since launching its donation drive in 2013, the company has raised more than $200 million.

Donations Will be Distributed to Refugees Directly

GiveDirectly, as its name suggests, distributes donations directly to refugees. Receiving crypto donations will further aid in their work. Catherine Diao, Head of Communications for GiveDirectly, says:

This is a major new chapter for us, entering the humanitarian space with a service to give money directly to refugees. We are really excited to be working with the leaders in the crypto community to translate some of the recent boons to impact for some of the poorest people in the world.

This doesn’t mean that the refugees will be burdened by crypto in its actual form. Rather, the money will be handed over to them after being converted to local currency. The conversion will be done by bank transfer or mobile money services. In this way, the refugees may be served in a better way.

While cash transfers have been used in humanitarian contexts before, this initiative is a significant departure from the status quo because we’re giving families transformative amounts of money versus small, subsistence amounts.

OmiseGo’s Support for GiveDirectly

OmiseGo seems to have been excited about this collaboration. It shows immense interest in leveraging crypto for charity. In an official OmiseGo blog post, Omise’s CEO, Jun Hasegawa, said:

The crypto economy has grown immensely over the last year, bringing a great deal of wealth to many people and organizations within the ecosystem. In part, we simply see an exciting opportunity to share that wealth. We hope the fortunes made in the crypto space will lead not to extravagant lifestyles, but to extravagant generosity.

The company is also making room for GiveDirectly on its decentralized payment network that is currently under development. It will help users make instant transactions without any fees.

Althea Allen, OmiseGo’s ecosystem growth lead, says:

We have a strong desire to support GiveDirectly’s unconditional cash transfers on the OMG Network in the future when it becomes possible.

Are you interested in making a crypto donation to this charity? If so, you can send your ETH or ERC-20 tokens to the GiveDirectly wallet: 0xc7464dbcA260A8faF033460622B23467Df5AEA42

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has announced that it will impose restrictions on the leverage offered for contracts-for-difference (CFDs) and binary options offered to European retail investors. Under the new measures, the leverage offered on cryptocurrency CFDs will be limited to no more than 2:1.

ESMA has agreed on what it describes as “temporary product intervention measures on the provision of [CFDs] and binary options to retail investors in the European Union (EU).”

The new measures will see restrictions on the leverage offered on cryptocurrency CFDs to no more than 2:1. The agreements will also mandate that traders provide an initial margin of “50% of the notional value of the CFD when the underlying [asset] is a cryptocurrency” – more than twice the initial margin required of any other CFD.

New Measures See Harshest Rules Imposed on Cryptocurrency CFDs

ESMA has stated that cryptocurrencies CFDs states that “CFDs with cryptocurrencies as an underlying raise separate and significant concerns as CFDs on other underlying” assets.

The regulator stated that “Cryptocurrencies are a relatively immature asset class that pose major risks for investors.” ESMA expressed “concerns about the integrity of the price formation process in underlying cryptocurrency markets,” arguing that such “makes it inherently difficult for retail clients to value these products.”

ESMA concluded that “Due to the specific characteristics of cryptocurrencies as an asset class the market for financial instruments providing exposure to cryptocurrencies, such as CFDs, will be closely monitored.” Based on its findings, ESMA “will assess whether stricter measures are required.”

New Rules to be Formalised in “Coming Weeks”

The measures will also see restrictions of 30:1 placed on “major currency pairs;” 20:1 for “non-major currency pairs, gold and major indices;” 10:1 for “commodities other than gold and non-major equity indices;” and 5:1 on “individual equities and other reference values.”

ESMA states that it “intends to adopt these measures in the official languages of the EU in the coming weeks.”

What is your response to the new restriction on the leverage offered by European CFD providers? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Bitcoin’s price has incurred a small jump. After yesterday’s trading lows of $6,600 – $6,900, the current mark for bitcoin’s price is just under $7,100 – a small, but noticeable step forward after what can be labeled a very tumultuous week.

For the most part, however, cryptocurrencies remain in the red, with major bitcoin competitors like ether trading at just under $400 and litecoin sitting at about $116. Other currencies, like Ripple’s XRP and bitcoin cash, are down approximately 20 to 30 percent from last week’s figures. Overall, the market has lost a total of nearly $114 billion, though today marks a seven percent increase from March 30.

The primary sentiment was that Hong Kong-based exchange OKEX and the liquidation of its futures contracts may have led to the sudden drop. All futures trading has since resumed on the platform, though many contracts ultimately disappeared or traded for significantly smaller figures. Executives claim the move was part of a plan to prevent irregular sell-offs in the future, while others claim the exchange was legitimately trying to manipulate the bitcoin price.

In addition, several regulatory fears continue to emerge from Japan, a global bitcoin hub. Recently, two separate exchanges have taken back their applications with the Financial Services Agency (FSA), citing they were not interested in being monitored by financial and/or government authorities.

To an extent, this can be understood. The decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies would undoubtedly be compromised by consistent regulation, and the crypto-environment as we know it would probably take a tumble or change drastically.

However, one idea behind a recent string of banks working to prevent customers from purchasing digital currencies is that traditional financial institutions feel they cannot compete with the non-regulated atmosphere of crypto, and thus are working not necessarily to protect customers or their funds, but rather to stay relevant. If all finances became completely unregulated and there was no longer a need for government or authoritative eyes to examine financial dealings, modern-day banks would probably lose their footing.

Are banks primarily worried about their own futures? That’s certainly a question worth exploring.

The latest bank to take a hard stance against cryptocurrency is the National Bank of Kazakhstan. The organization’s chairman released a statement on Friday that the country is examining a full ban of every digital currency available in today’s market. State departments are concerned about the country’s national currency, the tenge, and whether it could lose stability if customers regularly choose to trade it in for crypto. Granted residents decide the power lies in digital currencies, the tenge could potentially become obsolete, which may lead to economic problems like inflation.

The chairman also explains that he’s concerned about illicit activities cryptocurrencies can allegedly birth – issues like tax evasion and money laundering. This is a common argument, especially among government figures or those seeking to bar cryptocurrency permanently.

At the end of the tunnel, however, is a faint light, as most analysts suggest the recent crypto-crash may finally be reaching its end, and a strong period of recovery is on the way. They suggest things could start as early as April during tax season, while also claiming that futures trading is likely to increase as well, thus pushing the price even further.

Cybersecurity has become one of the biggest threats of our time, with about 7% of the world’s economic output at risk of being stolen. Blockchain technology is one solution, which is why so many new blockchain startups have appeared on the scene to tackle the issue of cybersecurity, but is that enough? Which ones are actually effective?

Looking at the most protected systems in the world – such as supercomputers employed by the U.S. military – we know that real solutions exist, but they’ve been neither affordable nor accessible to the general public. Blockchain startups have been bridging the gap, with one in particular catching the attention of some of the world’s largest tech giants.

For companies putting sensitive information on blockchains, anything not on said blockchains are still at risk.

Cryptocurrency exchange markets and mining companies have proven to be at real risk of security breaches. According to a study by Tyler Moore, about a third of all cryptocurrency exchanges have been hacked since 2009, and the total stolen in cryptocurrency already amounts to over $15 billion.

Here is a timeline of some of the biggest attacks to date:

Japan’s Mt. Gox was hacked in 2014 and 650,000 bitcoins were stolen. Today, they are worth about $9.4 billion dollars.

Bitfinex, a Hong Kong-based exchange, was hacked in August 2016. About $70 million worth of cryptocurrency was stolen, today worth $1.7 billion.

Cryptsy was hacked in July 2017 and 11,325 bitcoins were stolen, today worth over $100 million.

Kraken was also hacked in July 2017, leading to a loss of about $5 million.

Tether was hacked in November 2017 with cryptocurrency stolen worth over $31 million dollars.

Nicehash was hacked in December 2017 and about 4,700 bitcoins were stolen, worth about $68 million.

Coincheck, the self proclaimed “leading cryptocurrency exchange in Asia”, was hacked in January 2018 in the biggest heist to date, losing $530 million of users’ cryptocurrency.

BitGrail was hacked most recently in February 2018, with the stolen cryptocurrency valuing $170 million dollars.

This doesn’t just affect cryptocurrency exchanges. According to the National Cyber Security Alliance, one in five small businesses fell victim to cybercrime in 2015. About 60% of such firms go out of business within six months of such attacks.

By 2021, cybersecurity breaches are estimated to have cost over US$6 trillion, up from $3 trillion in 2015.

The best place to look for working cybersecurity solutions is within the government and military. Federal supercomputers must be protected and functioning at all times, so it makes sense that they would fund extensive research and development. Previously, these technologies have not been available, but through crowdfunded token sales, that has begun to change.

The U.S. Navy, Homeland Security, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin all use MTD (moving target defense) technology developed by the world’s leading researchers and computer scientists at George Mason University. Those same researchers are now endeavoring to make MTD cybersecurity tech available to the public.

Knowing that attacks are inevitable, researchers created MTD technology to provide two major functions: limit the window of opportunity for cyber attacks, and limit the damage incurred when an attack does occur and the system must be able to repair itself almost instantaneously.

In thebest example of MTD technology, different versions of servers rotate on a minute-by-minute basis. Instead of 3-4 months of access time, intruders get a single minute. With 5 servers online and 3 offline at all times, the servers rotated into the offline position are scanned for damage, allowing threats to be detected and cleansed. It’s a literal self-healing moving target.

In the blockchain community, the first step is making decentralized hosting more resilient. Hosting a file in a decentralized manner requires a ledger and data to be shared and encrypted. This data is then stored on millions of devices all over the world. The only thing that can bring the shards together is the ledger. In case the ledger is offline or corrupted, the data is not retrievable. MTD tech can keep this ledger constantly online and uncorrupted.

This also allows for the validation of certain processes and states. The core of this technology is the controller (which controls the rotation) and the pristine state of servers. Using blockchain technology, individuals validate the cleanness of these virtual machines by comparing the pristine state of the server to the actual and are rewarded with digital tokens for threats and damage located.

While cyber threats will never cease to exist, MTD technology provides the most effective means of thwarting hackers.That’s whyinvestors are getting in on cybersecurity startups, particularly those few offering MTD solutions. Moving target defense technology may just be the paradigm shift in cybersecurity that enterprises need to stay afloat in the increasingly high-stakes field of cyberwarfare. It’s definitely an emerging technology worth looking into further.

With the cryptocurrency markets getting a temporary reprieve, it is evident interesting things can happen. Judging by the previous weeks, this upward momentum will not last that long. For the Ethereum price, the question is whether or not remaining above $400 is in the cards. Right now, it seems that is a successful venture, but it will not last all that long.

Ethereum Price Momentum is Difficult to Come by

This past week has not been overly exciting forEthereum pricewatchers. Nor has the rest of the year been so far, as it is all pretty negative in general. This is not unique to the Ethereum price, mind you, but it is quite worrisome to see things deteriorate so quickly. Right now, an Ethereum price of over $400 is a joyous occasion.

Although this is indeed a small gain over the past 24 hours, it further confirms all cryptocurrencies are not in a good place. While a 5.83% gain over 24 hours is pretty decent for any financial asset, it barely pushes the Ethereum price over $400, One big sell order and the price crumble once again. Right now, it seems the bearish pressure is forming as we speak.

Ethereum isn’t successful in decoupling itself from Bitcoin as of right now. Although Ethereum gained 1.64% over Bitcoin it is evident this small gain will erode fairly quickly if Bitcoin drops again. The way things look right now, that appears to be only a matter of time It has been a terrible Q1 for cryptocurrencies in general, and the Ethereum price illustrates that point quite well.

One positive aspect is how Ethereum successfully maintains atrading volumeof over $1.4bn. That in itself is pretty interesting to note, as it shows there is a clear demand to buy and sell ETH as of right now. Unfortunately, it seems most of the orders are from sellers, rather than buyers. It is possible this momentum will turn around at some point.

With Bitfinex leading the charge in terms of trading volume, things look rather interesting right now. Huobi and Binance are battling over second place, with GDAX looming over their shoulder. OKEx is the fifth and sixth market right now, which is rather normal. With two fiat currency pairs and three USDT markets in the top five, we may see some Ethereum price fireworks after all.

For the time being, it is evident none of the top cryptocurrencies will not long-term growth or stability. There is too much bearish pressure on all markets to make anything spectacular happen. For the Ethereum price, finding stability around $400 would be a major victory in its way. It seems that will not happen anytime soon, though.

West Virginia is writing history, as it will become the first state in the US to use blockchain technology in the voting process during the upcoming May 8 Senate election. This will be done through a mobile application and will only be available for deployed military officers from the counties of Harrison and Monongalia, their spouses, and their dependents.

ANONYMITY AND TRANSPARENCY

Military officers who are deployed in various parts of the world currently use archaic methods to participate in the voting process. These methods include casting ballots via mail, fax or email. The officers are thus denied the basic right of anonymity when casting their ballots and often wonder whether their ballots are received in time and if they are counted, according to a statement by West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner.

The blockchain-powered mobile app will bring anonymity and transparency to military officers from the two pilot counties and their dependents. Thanks to his 23-year service in the U.S. Army, Secretary Warner knows firsthand how cumbersome the process is and views the blockchain as a godsend.

“The primary goal of this project is to take advantage of technological advances and offer the most secure military mobile voting solution possible that is accessible, verifiable, transparent, and easy to use,” reads part of the statement.

The project is a partnership between the Office of the Secretary of State of West Virginia and other strategic partners. They include Tusk/Montgomery Philanthropies, Blockchain Trust Accelerator, New America, and Voatz, a Boston-based tech startup whose platform has been utilized by more than 70,000 voters in various elections.

THE VOTINGPROCESS

To participate, an eligible voter must first submit a Federal Post Card Application to their county clerk. This can be done via email. Once the participant is confirmed by the county clerk, he or she is free to download the app and cast their vote.

The first user of the mobile app was Scott Warner, the son of Secretary Warner, who is currently deployed in Italy. He hailed the process as “slick”, appreciating the role it will play in making the servicemen feel that their voices count.

The blockchain’s use in voting takes off

While West Virginia is the first state to use a blockchain for a federal election, many organizations around the world have already implemented this technology in elections due to its transparency and immutability.

Blockchain-enabled voting (BEV) would restore faith in the process whose credibility has come under fire in the wake of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. Blockchains are decentralized and thus have no central points of failure that can be exploited by malicious parties. With the ledger being available to everyone in the network, the process would be transparent and everyone would feel confident that their votes were counted.

BEV has also faced its fair share of opposition from government officials who feel that its complexity may exclude a sizable portion of the population. In some regions, the decentralized nature of blockchains has been in conflict with existing regulations. In Europe, for instance, the EU’s privacy laws have in some instances been applied against blockchain technology.

While it is quite positive to see a lot of green on the cryptocurrency charts right now, it remains to be seen how long the momentum will last. Judging by the current Stellar price, things may effectively improve over the weekend. Then again, the day is not over just yet, as new bearish momentum is forming already.

The Stellar Price Notes a Large Gain

As is always the case in the world of cryptocurrency, any positive price momentum will usually be followed by more bearish pressure. Whether or not this weekend and upcoming week will prove to be different, remains to be seen. Judging by theStellar priceright now, the positive momentum is materializing in somewhat spectacular fashion.

With a solid 15.57% gain over the past 24 hours, Stellar Is the best-performing top cryptocurrency as of right now. While other currencies not some gains as well, the Stellar price will be on a lot of people’s radar as of right now. While the value of $0.21 is nothing to sneeze at, it is still quite a long way removed from the all-time high.

It is also interesting to see how the Stellar price has gained nearly 10% on Bitcoin. This is always peculiar, especially as the Bitcoin price is rising. It seems altcoins can only note gains in this regard when Bitcoin is doing well. Even so, it positively influences the Stellar price, for the time being. Maintaining this Stellar price momentum is a completely different ordeal, though.

With just under $80m in 24-hourtrading volume, the demand for Stellar is not necessarily all that great. Whether or not that is a positive development, remains to be seen, as this trading volume is pretty low when looking at the big picture. Then again, the overall cryptocurrency trading volume is still pretty low.

The way things look right now, Binance generates the most XLM trading volume. Its lead over Upbit is not all that big as people may think, though, but it’s still clearly visible. Poloniex completes the top three, which means there is only one fiat currency pair in the entire top three. Unfortunately, that is a KRW market, which has zero impact turn the rest of the world.

Whether or not the Stellar price momentum can remain bullish, is very difficult to predict. Considering how all currencies already show a minor retrace over the past few hours, it seems safe to say there is no reason to be overly happy just yet. Until the cryptocurrency market cap goes back over $300bn and stays there for a long period of time, we will not see any major growth whatsoever.

It has become apparent that virtually every publicly traded company wants to get involved in blockchain technology. Doing so seems to give company share prices a healthy boost, although not all of these decisions work out well in the end. In the case of Longfin, its stock price is plummeting, and it will be removed from the Russell 2000 and 3000 indices very soon.

Longfin Takes a Gamble and Loses

Truth be told, various companies have tried to make their blockchain plans public as a way to artificially increase their stock prices. For some companies, the decision has worked out, whereas others are struggling right now. TheSECwill continue to look into companies exploring this option, though, as very few firms actually touch blockchain technology after making their plans clear.

For Longfin, the decision to acquire Ziddu certainly gave its stock price a healthy boost at first. For those who are unaware, Ziddu is a company which offers a marketplace solution for smart contracts. It sounds like it has a lot of potential, even though there is no real reason why such a firm should be acquired by Longfin. After all, the latter company has no intention of working with blockchains or any technology which stems from them.

As such, it is only normal that the hype associated with this particular decision died down pretty quickly as more and more investors began to realize that Longfin was not necessarily going to do anything with the smart contracts. However, that is only one of the concerns as of right now, as the company will also be removed from the Russell 2000 and 3000 indices, albeit for a completely different reason.

More specifically, FTSE Russell doesn’t take kindly to Longfin making under 5% of the company shares available to the public. As of right now, just 2.5% of the company’s shares are in circulation, which is a very small amount, all things considered. Failing to meet this minimum requirement of FTSE Russell more thanwarrantsthe company’s shares being delisted, even though it remains to be seen how that will affect the firm as a whole.

What makes this story even more intriguing is that Longfin seemingly decided to pull a fast one. More specifically, its IPO concluded two days prior to announcing the acquisition of Ziddu, which quickly pushed the company’s stock price from $5 to $73. Since that time, however, the prices have dropped back down to $17 and may continue to fall for some time to come.

Whether or not Longfin will make good on its blockchain plans remains to be seen. It seems highly unlikely they will do so, even though they still own Ziddu as of right now. Rest assured the SEC may want to look into this matter, although it remains to be seen if anything will come of it moving forward. Companies throwing the term “blockchain” around willy-nilly are certainly in the crosshairs.

After the Bank of Thailand ordered the country’s financial institutions to steer clear of cryptocurrency, its military government has now advised that cryptocurrency taxes are on the cards.

Thailand has previously been hesitant to take decisive action against cryptocurrencies. However, 2018 has seen this on-the-fence stance change.

February saw the country’s financial institutions put an end to offering crypto-related services, while earlier this month saw authorities suggest that virtual currencies would soon be subjected to tax regulations.

Thailand to Issue Crypto Tax

According to Nikkei Asian Review, the latter is definitely happening. Thailand’s Finance Minister, Apisak Tantivorawong, made the announcement on the 27th of March. Authorities cite the prevention of money laundering, tax evasion, and aiding in criminal activities as the reasons for the introduction of these cryptocurrency taxes.

Crypto investors will be liable to pay a 7% value added tax (VAT) on all of their cryptocurrency trades as well as a 15% capital gains tax on their returns.

Protecting the Status Quo

The February ban and this latest tax development appear to show that the country’s government could be feeling wary of the impact that the disruptive nature of virtual currencies could have on their well-established processes.

Former finance minister and chairman of the Thai Fintech Association, Korn Chatikavanij, gave this warning:

But they have to be cautious not to allow their conservative instincts to result in draconian regulations.

Crypto Popularity Was on the Increase

Thailand has a growing and enthusiastic cryptocurrency community. In the last few months of 2016, weekly Bitcoin transactions were sitting at 12 million baht, while last year saw that number quadruple to 48 million baht during the same time period. Some retailers in the country even accept Bitcoin as payment.

Uncertain Regulations a Cause for Concern

Startups also found success in Thailand last year. OmiseGo, a decentralized financial services platform, managed to raise $25 million during its ICO. However, the country’s delay in providing a clear regulatory framework has left startups registering their platforms, as well as their ICOs, in Singapore, which has long been seen as a crypto-friendly country.

Singapore

Six.network, which is another decentralized financial services platform, is one such company. However, Natavudh Pungcharoenpong, a co-founder of the platform, has said that the startup is working with the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a Thai regulator, stating:

The company has already approached the office to constantly clarify the operation to ensure transparency.

Another Thai startup, JFin, has also cited regulation indecision as the reason for the postponement of listing their tokens on digital exchanges.

The ban in February, the tax directive, and possible new regulations could push potentially lucrative Thai startups into the waiting arms of Singapore, Hong Kong, and even Switzerland.

What do you think of Thailand’s crypto tax regulations? Will it drive these startups to greener pastures? Let us know in the comments below!

Russian citizens are expected to pay 13 percent tax on their crypto-related incomes. Amendments to the tax code are currently being prepared. The exact rates should be confirmed by the end of the year. However, lawyers have warned that even now citizens risk criminal prosecution if they fail to report gains from dealings with cryptocurrencies.

Tax Obligations Apply to All Residents, Including Foreigners

Lawmakers are finalizing the legislation that should regulate crypto-related matters in the Russian Federation. Two bills have been filed in the State Duma in the last couple of weeks. The draft law “On Digital Financial Assets” legalizes blockchain technologies, mining operations and initial coin offerings. Another bill amends Russia’s Civil Code to introduce terms like “digital money” and protect the rights of crypto investors. The bills should be adopted by early summer but changes to the tax laws are expected to follow later.

In the meantime, private individuals in the Russian Federation are not free from the obligation to inform tax authorities on their income from cryptocurrency operations. The standard tax rate of 13 percent is applicable to gains from trading cryptos like bitcoin, according to a letter by the Finance Ministry. The clarification notice has been issued in response to a private request (№03-04-05/66994) filed in October last year.

Although the letter is just a recommendation, tax lawyers say it reflects the stance of the ministry and should be used as a reference before new rules are adopted, Kommersant reports. The income tax rate, and other crypto-related parameters of taxation will be officially confirmed with the amendments of the tax code. Russia’s parliament and the Ministry of Finance are currently working on these changes expected to take effect by the end of the year.

Until that happens, Russian citizens are required to report crypto income on their tax returns and pay the regular income tax which has a flat rate of 13 percent. Foreign nationals present in the Russian Federation for at least 183 days in a year are treated and taxed as permanent residents. In all other cases the rate is doubled to 30 percent. Dividends are taxed at 6 percent (15 percent for non-residents).

Miners Can Pay Taxes as Individual Entrepreneurs or Legal Entities

The draft legislation, currently under review in the lower house of Russia’s parliament, defines crypto mining as an “entrepreneurial activity”. That means miners will be have to either register as individual entrepreneurs, or set up companies. In any case, they will be required to report their profits and pay their taxes. The applicable tax rates, and tax rights, depend on the type of registration they choose. Corporate profit tax in Russia is 24 percent.

Many aspects of crypto taxation need further clarification. Legal experts say that Russian tax officials lack the expertise necessary to address the matter adequately. The Federal Tax Service inspectors are struggling to understand how crypto exchanges work, and have no idea how to identify the owner of a cryptocurrency wallet.

At the same time, traditional regulations collide with the principles of anonymity and independence associated with cryptocurrencies. Nevertheless, individuals and businesses risk prosecution if they fail to report their incomes and gains from crypto-related activities. That’s why tax lawyers advise both citizens and companies to pay their taxes on time.

Do you agree that tax authorities should first do their homework on cryptocurrencies before they tax crypto incomes? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Crime has become a very real problem in the world of cryptocurrency. Scammers come up with new ways to trick Bitcoin and altcoin owners. It seems the well-documented “tech support scam” is rising in popularity once again. As one would expect, this also impacts the cryptocurrency industry as a whole.

Thetech support scam is a sold as most people can remember. Criminals will pose as a company staff member and call up clients out of the blue. They will then proceed to ask for specific information, including payment details. Various variations of this scam exist as of today. It seems it is also making a bigger impact in the world of cryptocurrency.

Tech Support Scam is Popular in the Cryptocurrency World

According to the IC3website, the tech support scam is quite popular in this industry. Criminals will pose as exchange support to contact platform users. In doing so, they effectively ask for access to a client’s account or wallet to transfer money. It is something that sounds like it will never work, yet proves to be quite successful in the end.

Additionally, it seems to gain access to electronic devices remains popular. It is evident this trend is quite worrisome, yet surprisingly successful as well. It is unclear why anyone would ever give someone access to a wallet, login credentials, or an electronic device. Even so, the IC3 has received a lot of complaints in this regard.

The bigger question is if consumers will become smarter. An out of new people invested incryptocurrencyover the past 12 months. Most of them are completely clueless when it comes to security and best practices. It seems that situation will not improve by any means. Cryptocurrency is a very delicate form of money, which needs to be treated with respect and a willingness to take control. Anything other than that is simply not done.